AMERICUS, GA (Jan. 12, 2014) – Francis Marion led the entire second half, and held off a late rally to upset No. 18 Georgia Southwestern State 58-53, Sunday afternoon in Peach Belt Conference men's basketball action from Americus, Ga.

It was FMU's third straight victory, and improves its record to 6-6 overall and 3-3 in PBC play. The Patriots return to the court Thursday night in Savannah, Ga., as they take on Armstrong Atlantic State at 7:30 p.m. FMU will open a three-game homestand on Saturday, Jan. 18, against the University of Montevallo at 3:30 p.m.

Senior guard Evrik Gary led the Patriots with a game-high 16 points while grabbing four rebounds and dishing out three assists. Gary moved into seventh place on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,471 points as he passed former Francis Marion greats Will Tucker and Robert Barber.

Junior forward Dustin Jones chipped in 12 points, four rebounds and a steal, while Luka Zivkovic finished with 10 points and five rebounds. Senior Robert Carpenter tallied a team-high nine rebounds, while sophomore Mykel Harris chipped in seven points off the bench.

Georgia Southwestern (12-2, 4-1), who spent the last five weeks ranked in the NCAA Division II National Coaches Poll, was led by Jonathan Brooks and Alan Arnett, who recorded 14 points each.

After holding a slim 20-18 lead at halftime, FMU opened the second half on a 10-1 run and increased its lead to 30-19 with 15:58 to play in the game. Gary and Zivkovic tallied two of the Patriots' eight three-pointers during that stretch.

FMU would hold at least an eight-point lead over the Hurricanes for the next eight minutes of the game, and held a 45-33 advantage with 8:31 to play. However, GSW would answer with an 11-2 run that cut the Patriot lead to 47-44 with 6:02 showing on the clock, and force a timeout.  

GSW's Brooks cut the lead to just one with 4:44 to play, but FMU answered with a quick 4-0 spurt capped by a steal and jumper by Gary to go back up by five with just under four minutes in the game.

After the Hurricanes' Jamon Hawkins recorded a layup, Jones knocked down a big three-pointer to put FMU back up by six. GSW refused to go quietly, and answered with a three of its own on the next possession to set the score at 54-51 with 2:58 to play.

Defense would be the key for the Patriots in the final three minutes of the game as they forced two turnovers before Gary hit a jump shot with 1:44 to play to put the lead at 56-51. The Hurricanes desperately tried to cut back into the lead, but missed two contested three-pointers in the game's final minute. Jones converted two free-throws with 12 seconds to go, and FMU finished off the five-point victory.

GSU held its only lead of the game off a dunk in the game's first minute. FMU would answer with a 14-6 run in a low-scoring first half, and held a 14-8 lead with 8:15 to play before halftime. The Hurricanes fought back and tied the game at 18-18 with 1:44 before the half, but a Zivkovic dunk gave the Patriots a two-point advantage at the break.

It was the Patriots' first win over nationally ranked opponent since a 75-67 road victory over #24 Montevallo on Jan. 31, 2010. Neither squad shot entirely well from the field, with GSW shooting 36.2 percent compared to 33.9 percent for FMU. Both teams each recorded 40 rebounds, with FMU holding a narrow 12-11 advantage on the offensive glass.

1-12-14 4:00 p.m. at Americus, Ga.
FRANCIS MARION 58, #18 GEORGIA SOUTHWESTERN 53
FRANCIS MARION (6-6, 3-3 PBC)
Evrik Gary 6-14 2-2 16; Dustin Jones 3-5 4-4 12; Luka Zivkovic 4-11 0-1 10;
Mykel Harris 2-5 2-3 7; Robert Carpenter 1-12 2-2 5; Clark Major 2-4 0-0 4;
Trevonte Dixon 2-8 0-0 4; Lepreece Lynch 0-0 0-0 0; Tyler Deihl 0-0 0-0 0.
Totals 20-59 10-12 58.
#18 GEORGIA SOUTHWESTERN (12-2 , 4-1 PBC)
Alan Arnett 6-13 0-0 14; Johathan Brooks 6-17 0-0 14; Adrian Knight 3-6 0-0
9; Jamon Hawkins 3-11 1-2 9; Darius Redding 2-7 0-0 4; Daryl Davis 1-2 1-2
3; Bobby Glover 0-1 0-0 0; Josh Birchfield 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21-58 2-4 53.
Halftime: Francis Marion 20 Georgia Southwestern 18
3-point goals--Francis Marion 8-28 (Luka Zivkovic 2-8; Dustin Jones 2-4;
Evrik Gary 2-7; Mykel Harris 1-1; Robert Carpenter 1-6; Trevonte Dixon 0-2),
Georgia Southwestern 9-29 (Adrian Knight 3-5; Jamon Hawkins 2-10; Alan
Arnett 2-6; Johathan Brooks 2-6; Bobby Glover 0-1; Darius Redding 0-1).
Fouled out--Francis Marion-None, Georgia Southwestern-None.
Rebounds--Francis Marion 40 (Robert Carpenter 9), Georgia Southwestern 40
(Johathan Brooks 18). Assists--Francis Marion 12 (Evrik Gary 3), Georgia
Southwestern 9 (Darius Redding 3; Jamon Hawkins 3). Total fouls--Francis
Marion 7, Georgia Southwestern 11. Technical fouls--None. A-506